SR or corporate social responsibility allows small and large companies to bring a positive change into the world, and this way organizations can be
more focused not only on doing what’s right but doing something to build the customers' trust.
When using a product or a socially responsible service, the consumers feel they are doing the right thing for the environment. The more socially responsible a company is, the more supportive and caring the consumer will be.
Also, artificial intelligence is being adopted fast by companies and organizations, and now they need to be more careful and adapt their CSR efforts with a responsible AI effort.
What Is CSR?
Also known as corporate social responsibility, it represents a business model that helps companies and organizations to be socially accountable to the stakeholders, to the public, and also to their activities.
With the practice of CSR, companies can be more aware of the impact that they have on society, including economic, social, and environmental aspects.
The CSR practices have become more popular now because Millennials and Gen Z generations are taking these social problems and issues in a more serious manner than previous generations.
According to the Pew Research Center, in a recent study, they discovered that about 67% of Gen Z adults and 71% of adults from the millennial generation are taking these problems very seriously and they put as a top priority the climate change and sustainability in businesses.
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Why Are Companies And Organizations Including Corporate Social Responsibility?
Many businesses are taking into consideration various reasons to participate in CSR. Some companies may have good intentions and try to gain CSR benefits from renewable energy, but other organizations might try to improve their political position.
Here are the top reasons why businesses are engaging in CSR practices:
- To improve the Public Image - for example, when a company donates money or even resources to some social causes, they can show their values to customers, partners, or employees. This method is a great way to build the brand image and awareness.
- To have an increased profit - when your customers or potential customers see that an organization is engaging in social responsibility practices, they will be more likely to spend money on your products or services.
- To avoid taxes - some businesses can receive a reduction of their taxes of up to 25% from the qualified charitable contributions. These tax deductions can have a major impact on the company’s results and can be a driving motivator for some businesses.
- To gain a level of political influence - when supporting the right CSR companies, with initiatives and social change, some organizations can gain attention from people with influence. And because this method has worked in the past, companies are planning their CSR strategies and activities to purposely gain attention.
- To boost employee engagement and morale - when a company promotes some CSR practices, the employees are more likely to remain invested in the business.
- To obtain the control for self-preservation - If a company is facing some problems, the CSR can help them to recover the positive control of the situation.
- To attract top talent - The Millennial generation is putting more value on a company’s brand recognition, reputation, and values when they are considering a job position. And for a company that is prioritizing social responsibility, this strategy can bring serious CSR benefits.
What are the types of Corporate Social Responsibility?
CSR in business represents a method through which companies show that they care about society and the planet, besides the care for their profits and results.
There are four main types of CSR in business such as environmental, philanthropic, human rights and ethics, and lastly economic. Let’s discuss more about them:
Environmental Responsibility
Environmental CSR happens when CSR companies and organizations are supporting some eco-friendly practices such as the sustainable production of physical products with nonpolluting materials, the usage of renewable energy, or the offsetting of harmful emissions.
Philanthropic Responsibility
This type is at its core charity-based, with charitable donations, partnerships with charitable organizations, or the creation of a separate charitable wing in a business. The goal of philanthropic responsibility is to bring some CSR benefits to the surrounding environment.
Human Rights and Ethical Responsibility
It involves some practices that are made to support human rights like fair treatment for everyone that is involved in the business’s activities and respect the trade principles. These trade principles should not be based on production methods such as slavery and child labor.
Economic Responsibility
Economic CSR combines the previous three types, and if a company states that they are devoted to human rights, wants to protect the environment, and a leaning toward philanthropy, then its financial investment should reflect the statement. For instance, if an organization states that it’s working to balance its carbon footprint, then its investments and spending should be showing their commitment.
How to include the CSR strategy in your business if you haven’t done it already?
If a business hasn't initiated some CSR practices until now, it can be the perfect time to consider it to become a socially responsible company. It’s important to search for ideas that are based on the core company values and in the systems.
Every business should start with some base questions and work its way from that. Are there some areas that can affect the business’s community? Or the environment? What small detail could be changed to make a major positive impact?
After identifying the answers to these questions, here are some tips to implement CSR in the company’s strategy :
- Begin from the core
Start with developing a donation strategy that can align with the company’s values. For instance, if your organization is based more on health and nutrition, you should consider implementing a program to help underserved communities have access to healthy food and good nutrition care.
- Examine your community
It’s important to be focused on where your organization is based and if it affects the local people. To start implementing CSR, you should first consider the local community and then expand to other audiences.
- Consider the known organizations
Many communities are great to start with. To become more visible, it’s important to partner with local organizations and then use the insight to grow the social impact.
- Adopt a global thinking
Think about the elements from your supply chain. Maybe you stock up from countries that are facing some issues. Be aware of what is happening in those places and think about how you can be socially responsible on an international level while sticking with the core values.
- Be strategic
It’s important to understand what are the main problems that your organization is facing or what improvements can be made. Once, you will find what your organization needs in strategy, set some parameters. For example, What is the minimum or maximum contribution that your company can make? Start from this question and set some challenging but realistic goals.
15 Socially Responsible Companies in 2024
- Ben & Jerry’s
Is a famous company for protesting against global issues like refugee rights, LGBTQ+ rights, climate change justice, and the list goes on. To be able to raise awareness for these issues, they are collaborating with some nonprofits to build support with their customers. Also, the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation funds businesses and organizations regularly in Vermont, their home state, and around the country.
- Patagonia
Patagonia is a brand known for its environmentally friendly practices, such as supporting grassroots activists by funding them. They have a program called Worn Wear that encourages their customers to give their used Patagonia clothes back to the brand and refurbish them to be sold. Also, Patagonia Provisions makes and sells organic food to ensure healthy soil, cultivated under some ethical employee conditions, and fair treatment for animals.
- Ikea
The furniture retailer is committed to environmentalism and plans to use only sustainable materials and recycled or renewable plastic by 2030 in the making process of their furniture. They also have an Ikea Foundation that is working with NGOs to create programs of employment and entrepreneurship and to fund environmental ventures around the world.
- Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola puts a huge effort into sustainability, and the key areas are the climate, packaging, and agriculture, and also the water stewardship. They promote “a world without waste” and aim to collect and recycle every bottle to make their packaging 100% recyclable and also replace all of the water that is used in the creation process of their drinks to ensure water security. And their main goal is to reduce their carbon footprint by 26% by 2030.
- Google
It is considered a trusted company not only because of its environmentally friendly practices but also due to the outspoken CEO, Sundar Pichai. He stood up many times against some social issues, including some situations about the impact of Artificial Intelligence in society regarding misinformation and fake news.
- Netflix
From a social perspective, Netflix is offering a lot of CSR benefits to help and support their employees and families. The streaming platform is offering 52 weeks of paid parental leave to the birth parents but also to the non-birth parent and this situation includes the parents that have adopted children. This paid parental leave can be taken at any time, whether it is in the first year of the child or another period that suits better their needs.
- Pfizer
Their main objective is to “help build healthier communities around the world”. To be able to do this they are supporting community-based innovations, safety net healthcare providers, and also promote health equity by enabling access to vaccines. They also give some grants in places like Haiti after Hurricane Matthew and in Europe and the Middle East during the global refugee crisis. The money is offered in partnership with some NGOs to help as many people as possible.
- Bosch
The Bosch company has some ambitious goals in protecting the environment and aims to reduce the ecological footprint through climate actions, water usage, and circular economy. Their efforts have paid off because about 400 of their locations are now climate neutral, and the next step is to reduce the upstream and downstream emissions by 15% by 2030.
- Lego
The company is spending a lot of money on sustainability practices and wants to focus on making its products more sustainable by 2032. Lego wants to phase out the single-use plastic packaging for their bricks and to make all the packaging sustainable by 2025. The process of creating sustainable bricks is not very easy, but they are determined to find a viable solution to reduce their use of plastic. The packing is now made about 93% from paper, cardboard, and other paper-based materials.
- Amazon
Since the beginning of their program called AmazonSmile, they have donated more than $215 million to nonprofit organizations for education, animal welfare, humanitarian actions, and health care. Every customer that purchases from AmazonSmile contributes 0.5% of their total purchasing to an organization of their choice.
- Salesforce
Until now, Salesforce has offered $406 million in grants and 5 million volunteer hours to support academic success, the development of professional educators, and also for college preparation. They also have the “Power of Us” program that is made for nonprofit organizations and institutions special to have access to Salesforce resources.
- Ford
The company has some huge plans including the CSR area. The mission of Ford is to “ build a better world where everyone is free to move and pursue their dreams”. Ford increased their investments in electrification to $22 billion and aims for its vehicles to be carbon neutral by 2050. They also are invested in pay equity and are conducting audits for diversity, equity, and inclusion to introduce a global salaried radio to even the level of pay for all of the employees.
- Spotify
With a similar program to Netflix, Spotify is offering a shorter duration of 24 weeks of paid leave. Employees can take parental leave until the child is three years old and the program is offering one month of flexible work to help them in the transitioning process from a full-time parent to a full-time employee. Also, Spotify is involved in social causes such as Pride Month, environmental sustainability, and Black Lives Matter.
- The Walt Disney Company
Disney aims to reduce emissions and waste and also use sustainable design and materials by 2030. Some of their goals are about achieving net zero emissions for direct operations and using plastic that contains about 30% recycled content. They also are active in strict international labor policies to protect the safety and rights of all of their employees.
- Starbucks
They are supporting the hiring process, and want to diversify the workforce to provide opportunities for specific groups. Starbucks has promised to hire almost 25,000 US military veterans and spouses by 2025 to show their efforts as a socially responsible company. Since the launch, they hired about 40,000 veterans and spouses, numbers which have surpassed the targets.
By
Bill O'Neill
•
September 13, 2024 10:40 AM
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